The code designation of the optical lenses of the solar wall panel is 2RT-L-RT:C (R--refracting section of a component lens, T--transmitting section of a component lens, L--reflecting section of a mirror, and C--concentrating stage lens). 2RT refers to the circular conical beam concentrator in the center of the building, L refers to the conical mirror, RT refers to the conical beam concentrator mounted in the panel forming the exterior wall of the building, and C refers to the function of the lenses.
Prior art includes three conical beam concentrators which receive annular incipient beams of direct sunlight and emit concentrated circular whole beams (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,881,654 and 2,882,784 by Toffolo and 4,325,612 by Clegg) and four conical beam concentrators which receive whole incipient beams of direct sunlight and emit concentrated whole beams (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,277,148; 4,333,713; 4,492,438; and 4,521,085 by Clegg). None of these concentrators can receive convergent conical incipient beams and emit concentrated convergent lateral beams in the horizontal plane, this being the distinctive patentable feature of the disclosure.
Concurrent art includes three conical beam concentrators which receive convergent conical beams of diffused sunlight and emit circular whole beams parallel to the vertical axis; Conical Beam Concentrator RT:C, Ser. No. 634,155, filed 7/25/84, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,196, Conical Beam Concentrator RT:C, Ser. No. 651,015, filed 9/17/84, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,938, and Conical Beam Concentrator RT:C, Ser. No. 641,274, filed 8/16/84.
The circular conical beam concentrator mounted in the crawl space in the center of the building in the subject disclosure is identical to a concentrator in an application filed earlier; Circular Conical Beam Concentrator 2RT:C, Ser. No. 654,297, filed 9/25/84, now abandoned.
The solar panel wall disclosed herein is one of three inventions in which the elements of conical optics and architecture are combined to produce circular buildings which are heated by diffused solar radiation. The other two inventions are; Conical Diffused-Sunlight Solar Panel, Ser. No. 762,896, filed 8/6/85, with an annular roof-mounted conical lens, and Wall-Mounted Conical Beam Concentrator, Ser. No. 770126, filed 8/28/85, with a conical lens mounted to the lower three courses of a concrete-block wall.
The areas of the incipient beams of these units are measured in hundred of thousands of square centimeters, and the concentrated lateral beams which provide the heat to the heating elements are less than ten square centimeters in area. Beam reductions of this magnitude are necessary because the heat content of diffused radiation is low.